The Curious case of Avery Bradley

[Yogi]

   Avery Bradley is much closer to Tony Allen than he is to Gabe Pruitt.  Undersized, defense first, athletic guard without great handles and good mid range game. While Bradley lacks the strength to guard 3's like Tony, he already has a much better offensive game.  He's only 20 and has a ton of upside.  Avery can be a top point guard in this league working with Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo. 

[Chris]

   Avery Bradley is much closer to Tony Allen than he is to Gabe Pruitt.  Undersized, defense first, athletic guard without great handles and good mid range game. While Bradley lacks the strength to guard 3's like Tony, he already has a much better offensive game.  He's only 20 and has a ton of upside.  Avery can be a top point guard in this league working with Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo. 

I disagree that Bradley has a better offensive game than Allen right now.  He is a (slightly) better shooter at the moment, but Tony has always been significantly better at getting to the basket and finishing.

My biggest problem/worry about Bradley's ability to be a quality NBA player is that he has yet to show the ability to use a quick first step on dribble drives, and to finish strong at the basket.  For a player who relies on their athleticism, this is a real key.  When he was not being guarded by the Knick's matadors in that last game, he was absolutely terrible at getting separation, and kept resorting to weak floaters because he could not beat his man.

Allen on the other hand has always had that strong first step.  He has his issues offensively, but if you get him in position for a 2 dribble drive, he is very hard to defend. 

Unless Bradley can learn that (and this is footwork he should have learned in middleschool or earlier), he is going to be incredibly easy to defend in the NBA, and his cieling will likely drop to no more than a defensive specialist at best.

[ScoobyDoo]

I thin Avery Bradley will end up being just find.

1. He has a Pit Bull mentality on the court

2. He's already one of the most aggressive on ball defenders I've seen in a long, long time.

3. I also think his ability to score the ball within the offense and on the break is going to suprise people as he develops.

4. The kid is very aggressive on both ends of the floor. He's not bashful. He has has what I would estimate to be "Top ten NBA athleticism" to go along with that aggressive nature.

I think he has the potential to be a mini microwave off the bench offensively and a Lindsay Hunter defensive presence in the back court as well.

I wouldn't be looking to ship him anywhere fast...

And coming off for Rondo he doesn't have to be a stud play maker or an all star.

He needs to push the ball on the break, get it across half court and initiate the offense and terrorize the opposing team's point defensively.

I think he's a great fit for that job behind Rondo and he's perfectly capable of performing it.

Let's give him a full training camp and season - whatever that means this year - and see where he settles. 



 

[Celtics18]

Ideally, I see him as being similar to George Hill from SA.

[manl_lui]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZneQFX2kZho&feature=feedu_more

Avery Bradley's highlights is around the 3:45 mark...

yes its the Vegas Pro league, against a lot of 2nd tier - 3rd tier players. But it seems like he just need to be given a bit more chance next year

We already know hes good on defense, but his offense doesnt seem that bad...

[PosImpos]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZneQFX2kZho&feature=feedu_more

Avery Bradley's highlights is around the 3:45 mark...

yes its the Vegas Pro league, against a lot of 2nd tier - 3rd tier players. But it seems like he just need to be given a bit more chance next year

We already know hes good on defense, but his offense doesnt seem that bad...

Well, that video made Jeremy Evans look like a combination of LeBron and Dwight Howard, so . . .

[Chris]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZneQFX2kZho&feature=feedu_more

Avery Bradley's highlights is around the 3:45 mark...

yes its the Vegas Pro league, against a lot of 2nd tier - 3rd tier players. But it seems like he just need to be given a bit more chance next year

We already know hes good on defense, but his offense doesnt seem that bad...

So his highlights were an alley-oop, a wide open layup on a fastbreak, and trying to take a guy off the dribble, nearly losing the ball, and pulling up from midrange...call me crazy, but I would prefer he were locked in a gym somewhere working on fundamentals, than doing things like this.

[mkogav]

AB barely made it on the floor last season. It's unclear what type of NBA player he will be or whether he is an NBA player at all.

The lockout is very bad for him. He needs practice and game time. He played ~160 minutes last year. If this season is lost, he'll have barely played 3/5 games of total time in 2 years going into the 2012-13 season.

That's bad.

Mk

[Chris]

AB barely made it on the floor last season. It's unclear what type of NBA player he will be or whether he is an NBA player at all.

The lockout is very bad for him. He needs practice and game time. He played ~160 minutes last year. If this season is lost, he'll have barely played 3/5 games of total time in 2 years going into the 2012-13 season.

That's bad.

Mk

I disagree.  I actually think a year in Europe would do wonders for him.  They would force him to learn the fundamentals, and work on his skills rather than his dunking...and he would play a whole lot more than he would in the NBA.  Sure, the competition would be a cut below, but right now the problem is with himself, not with the competition.  He needs to learn how to play.

[Inside-Out]

AB barely made it on the floor last season. It's unclear what type of NBA player he will be or whether he is an NBA player at all.

The lockout is very bad for him. He needs practice and game time. He played ~160 minutes last year. If this season is lost, he'll have barely played 3/5 games of total time in 2 years going into the 2012-13 season.

That's bad.

Mk

I disagree.  I actually think a year in Europe would do wonders for him.  They would force him to learn the fundamentals, and work on his skills rather than his dunking...and he would play a whole lot more than he would in the NBA.  Sure, the competition would be a cut below, but right now the problem is with himself, not with the competition.  He needs to learn how to play.

Agree completely with this...to the point that the lockout helps him by

1) not showing he's not ready for the NBA yet,

2) getting better in Europe,

3) as a returning player, he'll know the system better than whomever they bring in to play ahead of him, so he might have a better shot at minutes in a shortened season.

[mkogav]

AB barely made it on the floor last season. It's unclear what type of NBA player he will be or whether he is an NBA player at all.

The lockout is very bad for him. He needs practice and game time. He played ~160 minutes last year. If this season is lost, he'll have barely played 3/5 games of total time in 2 years going into the 2012-13 season.

That's bad.

Mk

I disagree.  I actually think a year in Europe would do wonders for him.  They would force him to learn the fundamentals, and work on his skills rather than his dunking...and he would play a whole lot more than he would in the NBA.  Sure, the competition would be a cut below, but right now the problem is with himself, not with the competition.  He needs to learn how to play.

If AB really would benefit from a year overseas to learn how to play then Danny wasted the #19 pick. A full 2011/12 and more earned PT should shed some light on his potential/upside.

Mk